The present invention relates to computer systems and, more particularly, to the automatic searching for data in a network, such as a public network.
The use of networks, such as the Internet, is growing in popularity. Networks provide access to data on a wide range of topics and provide an environment that supports electronic commerce (e-commerce). Additionally, networks allow the exchange of data and other information between users, and support various other online activities.
Typically, a user accesses the Internet using a web browser application running on a client computer. The web browser application allows the client computer to communicate with various servers (also referred to as web servers) coupled to the Internet. In a typical situation, the user of the client computer sends a request to a particular web server by entering the specific address of the web server into an address entry portion of a web browser, such as an address box. An address box may also be referred to as an address bar, an address-entry portion of a web browser, or an address-entry location of a web browser. The specific address of the web server is also referred to as a uniform resource locator (URL). For example, the URL xe2x80x9chttp:H/www.microsoft.comxe2x80x9d identifies a web site administered by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. When accessing this web site, a particular web page (often referred to as the xe2x80x9chome pagexe2x80x9d) is displayed to the user via the web browser application.
The above procedure is useful when the user knows the web address of the web site they want to visit, or the specific web page they want to view. If the user enters an incorrect address, then either an incorrect web page is displayed or an error message is displayed on the web browser indicating that the address entered is invalid. If the user does not know the specific web address of the desired web site or web page, then the user typically uses a xe2x80x9csearch enginexe2x80x9d to locate one or more web pages that are likely to contain the information the user is seeking. Typically, a search engine is invoked by entering a search command or search keywords into a search box of a web browser. The search box is separate from the address box used to enter URLs. Thus, if a user does not enter a valid address in an address box, the user may be required to enter similar address data twicexe2x80x94once in the address box and again in the search box. This double-entry of the same data is tedious and frustrating to a user trying to access information from a web page.
Certain web browsers attempt to convert a text entry into a valid web address by adding, for example, xe2x80x9chttp://xe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwww.xe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9c.comxe2x80x9d where necessary to generate a complete URL. However, this URL may not necessarily represent what the user desired. For example, modifying a cartoon character name to be a complete URL might result in retrieving a web page that is inappropriate for children (e.g., a web site containing adult-oriented subject matter).
The system described herein addresses these and other problems by automatically searching for a web page based on information entered in an address box of a web browser and automatically modifying a web page address in certain situations.
The system and methods described herein reduce the amount of data a user must enter into a web browser to access a desired web page. In particular, the user is not required to re-enter similar address data if the data entered in the address box is not a valid address.
A particular embodiment receives a text string in an address entry portion of a web browser. The embodiment identifies multiple web pages, each having an associated address, associated with the text string. A best web page is selected from the multiple web pages associated with the text string. The best web page is displayed in a first pane and at least a portion of the addresses associated with the multiple web pages is displayed in a second pane.
In one embodiment, the best web page is selected from a web directory search.
In another embodiment, the best web page is selected from a web page search.
In a particular embodiment, a request is received to display a web page associated with an address displayed in the second pane. In response to the request, the requested web page is displayed in the first pane. In this embodiment, the web page previously displayed in the first pane is replaced by the requested web page.